If your gun is used in a crime, you do the time

Published March 19. 2013 12:01AM

Sanford D'Esopo Groton

Publication: The Day

Here is one gun law change that could prevent access to guns by criminals: If their guns are used in a violent crime, hold gun owners criminally liable for failing to keep them secure. Liability would be subject to how easily the gun was obtained by the criminal. For example, the owner of a gun merely set in a rack in an unlocked house would be highly liable, while the owner of one kept in a safe that was rifled by a skilled safecracker would incur no liability. And someone who allows a mentally disturbed child or relative to access a gun would also be liable. Penalties would range from fines to prison sentences. Finally, if negligent owners aren't already subject to civil judgments, they should be.